Cuba: U.S. Puts Pressure on Latin America

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, April 14, 2003

Associated Press Writer

Cuba accused the United States of trying to strong arm poor nations into censuring the communist-run island ahead of Wednesday's U.N. rights commission vote.

"The government of the United States is applying colossal pressures on the countries of Latin America, Africa and others from the Third World," said a government statement read on state television Tuesday night.

It said the "anti-Cuban" resolution would be presented early Wednesday to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva by the "vile lackeys of the Empire, in this case, by the governments of Peru, Uruguay and Costa Rica."

Governments and rights groups around the world have condemned Cuba in recent weeks for a harsh crackdown on dissidents, followed by the executions Friday of three men convicted of hijacking a ferry filled with passengers in a bid to get to the United States.

Cuba's statement defended the executions, saying "the Revolution has been obligated to adopt harsh measures that it did not want, but could not avoid."

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the commission to censure Cuba for suppressing dissent, saying that the communist-run island's rights situation was horrible and getting worse.

The United States has been pushing for the strongest resolution possible by the 53-member commission, but it was unknown if a majority favored such a measure.

The U.S. delegation and others have pushed to strengthen the resolution on Cuba, which originally asked only that Cuba allow a U.N. rights monitor to visit the island.

"It has always had a horrible human rights record. And rather than improving as we go into the 21st century, it's getting worse," Powell said from Washington.

Cuban officials have repeatedly said they will not allow a U.N. rights monitor to visit, citing concerns about national sovereignty.